Laser Sight Firing Device Mountable To An Air Gun

ABSTRACT

A laser sight firing device is usable with an air gun, and includes a firing unit disposed on the gun barrel, a sensing unit, and a light emitter disposed on the firing unit. The firing unit includes a tubular member, and a position-limiting member extending from the tubular member. The tubular member has a tube wall formed with an air discharge hole and defining a passage. The sensing unit includes a piston disposed in the passage, a return mechanism disposed between the piston and the position-limiting member, a first chip module disposed on the piston, and a second chip module disposed fixedly in the passage. When air current flows from the air gun, the first chip module comes into contact with the second chip module to activate the light emitter to emit light.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Taiwanese Application No. 101107312, filed on Mar. 5, 2012.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a laser sight firing device, and more particularly to a laser sight firing device that can be mounted to an air gun to form a simulated gun assembly that is operable to simulate a real shooting.

2. Description of the Related Art

Referring to FIG. 1, a simulated gun 1 disclosed in Taiwanese Utility Model Patent No. 320281 includes main body 11 having a compartment 111, a sleeve tube unit 12 disposed in the compartment 111, and a trigger unit 13 exposed partially from the compartment 111. The main body 11 further has a microswitch 112 disposed in the compartment 111, a gun barrel 113 extending from an end of the main body 11, and a light emitter 114 disposed in the gun barrel 113 and activatable by the microswitch 112. The sleeve tube unit 12 includes a pneumatic tube 121, a resilient member 122 disposed on an end of the pneumatic tube 121 proximate to the gun barrel 113, a valve rod 123 disposed in the pneumatic tube 121, and a contact member 124 disposed on an end of the valve rod 123 proximate to the gun barrel 113. The trigger unit 13 includes a trigger 131 exposed outwardly from the compartment 111, and two movable members 132 disposed in the compartment 111 and connected to the trigger 131.

Prior to firing, the pneumatic tube 121 is inflated to move the valve rod 123 toward the gun barrel 113 to thereby compress the resilient member 122. At the same time, the contact member 124 of the valve rod 123 is obstructed by one of the movable members 132 nearer to the gun barrel 113 from moving away from the gun barrel 113.

Subsequently, the trigger 131 of the trigger unit 13 can be operated to activate the movable members 132 to thereby release the contact member 124 from the one of the movable members 132 nearer to the gun barrel 113. Hence, due to the biasing action of the resilient member 122, the contact member 124 is returned to its original position at a highspeed so as to contact the microswitch 112. Upon contact between the contact member 124 and the microswitch 112, the microswitch 112 sends a sensing signal to the light emitter 114 so as to activate the light emitter 114 to emit light.

As such, the aforesaid conventional simulated gun 1 can cooperate with an electronic target (not shown) having a light receiver for providing a safety firing training in a cost-effective manner. However, the conventional simulated gun 1 suffers from the following disadvantages:

(1) Complicated structure: the conventional simulated gun 1 includes a laser sight firing device having a large number of components that are dispersed therein. Such a laser sight firing device cannot be mounted removably to an air gun to constitute the conventional simulated gun 1, thereby increasing the molding cost of the simulated gun 1.

(2) Inconvenient assembly and disassembly: when repair and maintenance of the laser sight firing device are required, since the laser sight firing device is not an integral unit, it is necessary to send the whole gun to the repair factory, and the repair factory must disassemble the whole gun for repair and maintenance. As such, the simulated gun 1 is not convenient to repair and maintain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this invention is to provide a laser sight firing device that has a simple structure and that can be mounted easily and conveniently to an air gun.

According to this invention, a laser sight firing device is usable with an air gun, and includes a firing unit disposed on a gun barrel, a sensing unit, and a light emitter disposed on the firing unit. The firing unit includes a tubular member, and a position-limiting member extending from the tubular member. The tubular member has a tube wall formed with an air discharge hole and defining a passage. The sensing unit includes a piston disposed in the passage, a return mechanism disposed between the piston and the position-limiting member, a first chip module disposed on the piston, and a second chip module disposed fixedly in the passage. When air current flows from the air gun, the first chip module comes into contact with the second chip module to activate the light emitter to emit light.

Since the laser sight firing device is configured as an integral unit that has a simple structure and that can be mounted removably to an air gun, it is convenient to repair and maintain.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features and advantages of this invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of this invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional side view of a conventional simulated gun disclosed in Taiwanese Utility Model Patent No. 320281 when a trigger is not operated, which includes a laser sight firing device;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional side view of the conventional simulated gun when the trigger is operated;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a simulated gun assembly that includes an air gun and the first preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device according to this invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view of the first preferred embodiment, illustrating a non-contact position of a piston;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment, illustrating two contact members;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating a contact position of the piston;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating a modified connection between the air gun and the laser sight firing device;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but illustrating that two second chip modules are disposed on a position-limiting member;

FIG. 9 is a sectional side view of the second preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device according to this invention, illustrating a non-contact position of a piston;

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 but illustrating a contact position of the piston;

FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating that the first or second preferred embodiment can be disposed on an air gun configured as a machine gun;

FIG. 12 is a side view illustrating that the first or second preferred embodiment can be disposed on an air gun configured as a pistol;

FIG. 13 is a sectional side view of the third preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device according to this invention;

FIG. 14 is a sectional side view of the fourth preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device according to this invention;

FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating that the third or fourth preferred embodiment can be disposed on an air gun configured as a rifle;

FIG. 16 is a side view illustrating that the third or fourth preferred embodiment can be disposed on an air gun configured as a machine gun; and

FIG. 17 is a side view illustrating that the third or fourth preferred embodiment can be disposed on an air gun configured as a pistol.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Before the present invention is described in greater detail in connection with the preferred embodiments, it should be noted that similar elements and structures are designated by like reference numerals throughout the entire disclosure.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the first preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device 2 according to this invention is disposed on an air gun 3 for simulating a real shooting. In this embodiment, the air gun 3 is configured as a rifle. The air gun 3 includes a main body 31, a gun barrel 32 connected to the main body 31, and a trigger 33 connected to the main body 31 and operable for driving emission of a high-pressure air current from the main body 31 and through the gun barrel 32. The gun barrel 32 is formed with a muzzle 321 at an end thereof distal from the main body 31.

With further reference to FIG. 5, the laser sight firing device 2 includes a firing unit 21 disposed on the gun barrel 32, a sensing unit 22 disposed in the firing unit 21, and a light emitter 23 disposed on the firing unit 21. The firing unit 21 includes a tubular member 211 disposed removably on the gun barrel 32 of the air gun 3. The tubular member 211 has a tube wall 210, a firing aperture 213 defined by an end of the tube wall 210 distal from the gun barrel 32, and a passage 212 defined by the tube wall 210 and disposed between the firing aperture 213 and the muzzle 321. The tube wall 210 has two air discharge holes 217 formed therethrough, and a connecting section 214 adjacent to the muzzle 321 and connected to the gun barrel 32. The firing unit 21 further includes a position-limiting member 215 extending from an inner wall surface of the tube wall 210 into the passage 212, two contact members 216 extending from the inner wall surface of the tube wall 210 into the passage 212 and disposed between the position-limiting member 215 and the muzzle 321, and a stop member 218 disposed on the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211 and in the passage 212. The position-limiting member 215 is disposed to close the passage 212 such that the muzzle 321 is not in spatial communication with the firing aperture 213, so as to prevent water vapor and dust from moving from the firing aperture 213 into the air gun 3.

The sensing unit 22 includes a piston 221 disposed movably in the passage 212 and disposed between the muzzle 321 and the contact members 216, a return mechanism 222 connected between the piston 221 and the position-limiting member 215, two first chip modules 223 disposed on the piston 221, and two second chip modules 224 disposed respectively on the contact members 216. The first chip modules 223 are aligned respectively with the second chip modules 224. The return mechanism 222 has two end connected respectively to the position-limiting member 215 and the piston 221.

The light emitter 23 is disposed on the inner wall surface of the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211, and is disposed between the position-limiting member 215 and the firing aperture 213. It should be noted that, the air discharge holes 217 of the firing unit 21 are disposed between the stop member 218 and the contact members 216, so as to allow the high-pressure air current to flow out of the passage 212 therethrough. Alternatively, the number of the air discharge holes 217 may be increased or reduced. The stop member 218 is disposed between the piston 221 and the muzzle 321 for preventing collision between the piston 221 and the gun barrel 32.

In this embodiment, the connecting section 214 of the laser sight firing device 2 is threaded to the air gun 3 in such a manner that the laser sight firing device 2 is sleeved on the gun barrel 32.

The piston 221 is movable relative to the position-limiting member 215 between a non-contact position shown in FIG. 4 and a contact position shown in FIG. 6. When the trigger 33 is not operated, due to the biasing action of the resilient member 2222 of the return mechanism 222, the first chip modules 223 on the piston 221 are spaced apart from the second chip modules 224 on the contact members 216 by a predetermined distance. At this time, the piston 221 is disposed in the non-contact position. With particular reference to FIG. 6, when the trigger 33 is operated, a high-pressure air current is sprayed out of the main body 31 through the gun barrel 32. When the high-pressure air current flows from the muzzle 321 toward the firing aperture 213 along the passage 212, it pushes and moves the piston 221 of the sensing unit 22 from the non-contact position toward the contact members 216, so as to compress the resilient member 2222 and so as to move the first chip modules 223 into contact with the second chip modules 224, respectively. At this time, the piston 221 is disposed at the contact position, and upon contact between the first and second chip modules 223, 224, a sensing signal is emitted from the second chip modules 224 to the light emitter 23 in a wireless transmission manner. When the light emitter 23 receives the sensing signal from the second chip modules 224, it emits light toward a target object (not shown).

On the other hand, when the piston 221 reaches the contact position, the air discharge holes 217 are in fluid communication with the muzzle 321 so as to allow for flow of the high-pressure air current from the passage 212 and through the air discharge holes 217 for discharging. Upon discharge of the high-pressure air current, the piston 221 is no longer pushed pneumatically, and thus is biased by the resilient member 222 to return to the non-contact position. During return of the piston 221 to the non-contact position, the stop member 218 can obstruct the piston 221 from impact on the gun barrel 32. Alternatively, the number of the contact members 216, the first chip modules 223, or the second chip modules 224 may be increased or reduced. For example, if only one contact member 216 is provided, it may be an annular flange extending from the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211.

If the laser sight firing device 2 is used together with the air gun 3 to perform a shooting training, an electronic target (not shown) having a light receiver associated with the light emitter 23 can be provided for showing the contact point of light to allow the user to learn his or her shooting condition. Alternatively, the second chip modules 224 and the light emitter 23 are electrically connected to each other, so that the sensing signal is transmitted electrically from the second chip modules 224 to the light emitter 23. That is, when the first chip modules 223 contact the second chip modules 224, respectively, an electrical connection is established therebetween for activating the light emitter 23.

In this embodiment, the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211 has an annular groove (G) (see FIG. 6), and the stop member 218 is configured as a C-shaped ring, and is received within the annular groove (G). The structure of the stop member 218 can be changed as long as it can prevent collision between the piston 221 and the gun barrel 32. The connecting section 214 can be connected to the gun barrel 32 in other manners. For example, instead of the threaded connection, the firing unit 21 includes a high-strength magnet 2142 disposed on the connecting section 214 for attracting magnetically an end of the muzzle 321. In this manner, the laser sight firing device 2 also can be sleeved on the gun barrel 32. Alternatively, with further reference to FIG. 8, the contact members 216 may be omitted from the firing unit 21, and the second chip modules 224 maybe disposed on the position-limiting member 215.

FIG. 9 shows the second preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device 2 according to this invention, which is different from the laser sight firing device 2 shown in FIG. 8 in that, the return mechanism 222 includes two magnetic members 2223 disposed respectively on the position-limiting member 215 and the piston 221 for repulsing magnetically each other. As such, the piston 221 is biased to the non-contact position. With particular reference to FIG. 10, through operation of the trigger 33 (see FIG. 3), the high-pressure air current sprayed from the air gun 3 can overcome the repulsive magnetic force occurring between the magnetic members 2223 to push and move the piston 221 to the contact position. At this time, the first chip modules 223 on the piston 221 come into contact the second chip modules 224 to activate the light emitter 23 in a wireless transmission manner or an electrical connection manner. When the high-pressure air current is discharged through the air discharge holes 217, the piston 221 is no long pushed so as to allow the piston 221 to return to the non-contact position by virtue of the repulsive magnetic force between the magnetic members 2223.

With further reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the outer appearance of the first or second preferred embodiment may be designed to have the shape of a silencer to allow an assembly of the laser sight firing device 2 and the air gun 3 to look more like a real gun. The air gun 3 of the first or second preferred embodiment may be configured as a rifle shown in FIG. 11 or a pistol shown in FIG. 12.

FIG. 13 shows the third preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device 2 according to this invention, which is similar to the first preferred embodiment. In this embodiment, the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211 is formed with a plurality of guide holes 219 in spatial communication with the passage 212. With the above structure, the laser sight firing device 2 looks like a flash hider. Although the laser sight firing device 2 do not have the flash-concealing function of a flash hider, when it is mounted to an air gun 3 to form a simulated gun assembly, the user can be used to operate the same during a real shooting.

FIG. 14 shows the fourth preferred embodiment of a laser sight firing device 2 according to this invention, which is different from the laser sight firing device 2 shown in FIG. 9 in that, the tube wall 210 of the tubular member 211 is formed with a plurality of guide holes 219 in spatial communication with the passage 212.

The air gun 3 of the third or fourth preferred embodiment may be configured as a rifle shown in FIG. 15, a machine gun shown in FIG. 16, or a pistol shown in FIG. 17. The diameter of the passage 212 of the firing unit 21 can be adjusted so as to be fitted into various air guns 3, thereby increasing largely the applicable range of the laser sight firing device 2.

To sum up, the laser sight firing device 2 of this invention has the following advantages:

(1) Simple structure convenient to disassemble: the laser sight firing device 2 can be sleeved on an air gun 3 so that, when the air gun 3 is operated, the laser sight firing device 2 can emit light. When the light emitting function is not required, the laser sight firing device 2 can be removed easily from the air gun 3, thereby resulting in convenience during use.

(2) Convenient to repair and maintain: when repair and maintenance of the laser sight firing device 2 are required, since the laser sight firing device is an integral unit, it is only necessary to send the laser sight firing device 2 to the repair factory for repair and maintenance. In other words, it is convenient for the user and the repair factory to repair and maintain the laser sight firing device 2.

(3) Two use selections: when the laser sight firing device 2 is mounted to the air gun 3, and when a magazine and bullets are removed from the air gun 3, an assembly of the laser sight firing device 2 and the air gun 3 functions as a simulated gun capable of emitting light. Or, the laser sight firing device 2 may be replaced with the magazine and the bullets, so that the bullets can be shot from the air gun 3.

(4) High simulation degree: the laser sight firing device 2 may be shaped as a flash hider or a silencer, so as to maintain a good outer appearance of the assembly of the laser sight firing device 2 and the air gun 3. Furthermore, due to the presence of such a device, the user can learn how the flash hider or the silencer looks like, and feels that he or she is placed in a simulated shooting field.

(b 5) Preventing accession of water vapor or dust into the air gun 3: numerous precision mechanical components mounted within the main body 31 of the air gun 3 are easily damaged when water vapor or dust enters the main body 31. Since the laser sight firing device 2 is provided with a position-limiting member 215 for closing the passage 212, when it is mounted to the air gun 3, the position-limiting member 215 can prevent water vapor or dust from entering the main body 31, thereby increasing the service life of the air gun 3.

(6) Increased applicable range: by changing the inner diameter of the tubular member 211, the laser sight firing device 2 is suitable for various air guns 3. This results in a decrease in the molding costs of the laser sight firing device 2 and the air gun 3 and an increase in the applicable range of the laser sight firing device 2.

With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only as indicated by the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. A laser sight firing device adapted for use with an air gun, the air gun having a main body, a gun barrel connected to the main body, and a trigger unit connected to the main body and operable for driving emission of a high-pressure air current from the main body and through the gun barrel, the gun barrel having a muzzle disposed at an end thereof distal from the main body, said laser sight firing device comprising: a firing unit including a tubular member adapted to be disposed removably on the gun barrel of the air gun, said tubular member having a tube wall, a firing aperture disposed at an end of said tube wall distal from the muzzle of the air gun, and a passage defined by said tube wall and adapted to be disposed between said firing aperture and the muzzle, said tube wall having an air discharge hole formed therethrough, said firing unit further including a position-limiting member extending from an inner wall surface of said tube wall into said passage; a sensing unit including a piston disposed movably in said passage and adapted to be disposed between said position-limiting member and the muzzle, a return mechanism connected between said piston and said position-limiting member, a first chip module disposed on said piston, and a second chip module disposed fixedly in said passage, aligned with said first chip module, and adapted to be disposed between said position-limiting member and the muzzle, said piston being movable relative to said position-limiting member between a non-contact position and a contact position, wherein, when said piston is disposed at the non-contact position, said first and second chip modules are spaced apart from each other, said piston being adapted to be driven by the high-pressure air current to move from the non-position to the contact position, so that the first chip module comes into contact with said second chip module to activate said second chip module to emit a sensing signal, and the high-pressure air current flows out of said passage through said air discharge hole, after which said return mechanism creates a restoration force to return said piston from the contact position to the non-contact position; and a light emitter disposed on said tube wall of said tubular member for receiving the sensing signal from said second chip module to emit light.
 2. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said return mechanism is configured as a resilient member having two ends connected respectively to said position-limiting member and said piston.
 3. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said return mechanism includes two magnetic members disposed respectively on said position-limiting member and said piston for repulsing magnetically each other.
 4. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said firing unit further includes a stop member disposed on said tube wall of said tubular member and adapted to be disposed between said piston and the muzzle for preventing collision between said piston and the muzzle.
 5. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein said inner wall surface of said tube wall is formed with an annular groove, and said stop member is configured as a C-shaped ring received within said annular groove.
 6. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tube wall of said tubular member further has a connecting section adapted to be adjacent to the muzzle and adapted to be connect with the gun barrel, said connecting section being adapted to be threaded to an end of the muzzle.
 7. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tube wall of said tubular member further has a connecting section adapted to be adjacent to the muzzle and adapted to be connect with the gun barrel, said firing unit further including a high-strength magnet adapted to attract magnetically an end of the muzzle.
 8. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing signal is transmitted from said second chip module to said light emitter in a wireless transmission manner.
 9. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said tube wall of said tubular member is formed with a plurality of guide holes in spatial communication with said passage.
 10. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said firing unit further includes a contact member extending from the inner wall surface of said tube wall of said tubular member into said passage and adapted to be disposed between said position-limiting member and the muzzle, said second chip module being disposed on said contact member.
 11. The laser sight firing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein said second chip module is disposed on said position-limiting member. 